Gliricidia sepium
Gliricidia is a medium size leguminous tree belonging to the family Fabaceae and
and can grow to 10 to 12 meters high.
It is considered as the second most importance multi-purpose legume tree,
surpassed only by Leucaena leucocephala.
The bark is smooth and its color can range from a whitish gray to deep red-brown. It has composite leaves that can be 30 cm long. Each leaf is composed of leaflets that are about 2 to 7 cm long and 1 to 3 cm wide. The flowers are located on the end of branches that has no leaves.
These flowers have a bright pink to lilac color that is tinged with white. A pale yellow spot is usually at the flower's base. The tree's fruit is a pod which is about 10 to 15 cm in length. It is green when unripe and becomes yellow-brown when it reaches maturity. The pod produces 4 to 10 round brown seeds . The tree is used in many tropical and sub-tropical countries for various purposes such as live fencing, fodder, coffee shade, firewood, green manure and rat poison.
and can grow to 10 to 12 meters high.
It is considered as the second most importance multi-purpose legume tree,
surpassed only by Leucaena leucocephala.
The bark is smooth and its color can range from a whitish gray to deep red-brown. It has composite leaves that can be 30 cm long. Each leaf is composed of leaflets that are about 2 to 7 cm long and 1 to 3 cm wide. The flowers are located on the end of branches that has no leaves.
These flowers have a bright pink to lilac color that is tinged with white. A pale yellow spot is usually at the flower's base. The tree's fruit is a pod which is about 10 to 15 cm in length. It is green when unripe and becomes yellow-brown when it reaches maturity. The pod produces 4 to 10 round brown seeds . The tree is used in many tropical and sub-tropical countries for various purposes such as live fencing, fodder, coffee shade, firewood, green manure and rat poison.
Live fences can be grown from 1.5 m to 2.0 m stakes of Gliricidia sepium in just a month.
G. sepium is also used for its medicinal and insect repellent properties. Farmers in Latin America often wash their livestock with a paste made of crushed G. sepium leaves to ward off torsalos. In the Philippines, the extract obtained from its leaves is used to remove external parasites.
G. sepium is a fast growing ruderal species that takes advantage of slash and burn practices in its native range. Its swift propagation has caused it to be considered as a weed in Jamaica. Because it is easily propagated and grows quickly, it has also been suggested that this species may be planted to reduce topsoil erosion in the initial stages of reforesting denuded areas, an intermediate step to be taken before introducing species that take longer to grow.
G. sepium is also used for its medicinal and insect repellent properties. Farmers in Latin America often wash their livestock with a paste made of crushed G. sepium leaves to ward off torsalos. In the Philippines, the extract obtained from its leaves is used to remove external parasites.
G. sepium is a fast growing ruderal species that takes advantage of slash and burn practices in its native range. Its swift propagation has caused it to be considered as a weed in Jamaica. Because it is easily propagated and grows quickly, it has also been suggested that this species may be planted to reduce topsoil erosion in the initial stages of reforesting denuded areas, an intermediate step to be taken before introducing species that take longer to grow.
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Gliricidia sepium ist ein kleiner, laubabwerfender Baum (zur Trocken- und Blütezeit);
Blätter gefiedert, ähnlich Cassia;
Fiederunterseits heller grün mit dunklen Flecken ;
Blüten rosafarben, in dichten Trauben gedrängt, dicht am Zweig stehend;
Zweige oft rutenförmig in den Himmel ragend,
oft als Hecke oder als Zaunpfähle gepflanzt und wie Weiden zurückgeschnitten.
Heimat: tropisches Amerika
Blütezeit: Februar - April
Bemerkungen:
In Ceylon (Sri Lanca) 1899 eingeführt, als Heckenpflanze mittlerweile pantropisch verbreitet. Die Blätter dienen als Viehfutter, zermahlene Samen, Rinde und Blätter werden mit Reis oder Mais vermischt zu Rattengift-Pellets verarbeitet. In seinem Ursprungsgebiet heißt dieser Baum 'mataraton', was ebenfalls 'Rattentöter' bedeutet. Er wird als Schattenbaum in Kakaoplantagen eingesetzt, sein hartes, rotbraunes Holz wird ebenfalls genutzt, die Blüten werden gebraten gegessen.
My sources:
http://www.tropicalforages.info/ Australia
Tropical Plants of the World by Jens G. Rohwer, Ph.D. Germany
Nature of the Forest - Costa Rica and Beyond by Adrian Forsyth
and Wikipedia
pictures by guild-rez 02/2010 -
Las Terrenas, Samana - Dominican Republic
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